Footage of a mammal eerily standing on its hind legs prompted social media users to speculate that the Hangzhou zoo was employing human impostors
© Social networks
The Hangzhou zoo in eastern China has officially denied allegations of using humans in costumes instead of real bears. Speculation erupted after video footage of one of the zoo’s bears went viral online, with many struggling to believe it was a real animal.
In the video, a sun bear called Angela can be seen standing on its hind legs, waving to visitors and trying to catch food that was being thrown to it. According to many users, the bear’s slender legs, folds of fur and unusual proportions made it look like a human was acting the part.
In a statement to the media, the zoo’s management insisted that the Malayan sun bear that was featured in the video “is definitely a real animal. It’s definitely not a person wearing a bear costume.”
This is a real bear, not a human dressed in costumes! A four-year-old Malayan sun bear named Angela in a Hangzhou zoo went viral on China's social media as a video showed the world's smallest bear standing upright and waving to tourists just like a human. pic.twitter.com/Azv2tTVJhv
— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina) August 1, 2023
They pointed out that the summers in the region are really hot, reaching temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, and stressed that “a person in a bear costume wouldn’t last more than a few minutes” in such conditions before collapsing.
The zoo’s official Weibo account has even featured a link to an “official” statement from ‘Angela the Sun Bear’ herself, who decided to address suspicions that she was looking for a substitute.
“Yesterday, after I got off work, I received a call from the director, asking me if I had gotten lazy and slacked off from work by hiring a two-legged beast to replace me,” the bear ‘wrote.’ “Some people thought the way I stand up looks too human. It seems that you don’t know me too well… I am a sun bear! Not a black bear! Not a dog! A sun bear!”
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Malayan bears, native to the tropical forests of southeast Asia, are the smallest in the world and are roughly the size of large dogs. They also have slightly different proportions compared to other bears, featuring a stocky build, large paws, short snout, inward-turned front feet and flattened chest. Their silky and fine fur is also the shortest among all bear species.
The Hangzhou Zoo’s management says it has taken the accusations of trying to dupe visitors seriously and is now reportedly planning to invite reporters to inspect the bear up close. Several smaller zoos in other parts of China have in the past been caught trying to pass off dogs as lions and substituting penguins with inflatable imitations.
